The Official Halo Topic

[King of the Madness Isles]

Wait...Halo 4...has...no...Firefight?Gosh, it's looking worse and worse yet still better and better every day. I just can't form an opinion. At least they pretty much confirmed the return of Forge. Also me and my friends started a Hunger Games map on Reach...hopefully it'll be better than the million others.

[Kopekemaster]

I have only played the demo, but I have enjoyed it.

Edited April 9, 2012 by Kopekemaster

[Makaru]

No firefight, no business from me.

[Mare Tranquillitatis]

1. Halo without firefight means, for me and maybe for many others, "you can play only campaign". ( can't get XBox LIVE gold )2. No health packs? I'm horrible in Reach, lets guess how I'd play 4 without those.3. I like MC new armor look, but not SPARTAN IV's. It reminds me a manga, and I hate manga!4. Also, no dual wield and no AAs are great things: 343 is risking a lot!Sauron said.----- Lord of the Rings -----Titles: Dark Lord, Lord of Mordor, Lord of Gifts, Lord of Barad-Dûr, Lord of the Earth

[Bundalings]

... There are armor abilities. There's even a new one (at least one new one, anyway), something about x-ray vision.

[Mr. Fluffy]

Oooh! A new Game Informer with Halo 4 as its cover story? I'll definitely take a look at that.I also reached General in Halo Reach and got some pretty nifty armor. But shortly after that I quit playing. It got old.

[Archer Vonn]

I saw AA I thought Anti-Air... I'm clearly tired.

[Akuna Toa of Sonics]

If Halo 4 has no Firefight, the campaign must be really dang good, or else the franchise is screwed.

[Lord Kini Hawkeye]

There's no firefight but there's Spartan Ops.Just saying.

[Archer Vonn]

If Halo 4 has no Firefight, the campaign must be really dang good, or else the franchise is screwed.

Franchise was screwed when Bungie said 'Reach is our last game', jsyk.

[Bundalings]

Disagree, Halo Wars was pretty good and the novels published without Bungie aid have been pretty excellent.Also what I've heard of the Halo 4 soundtrack sounds amaaazing.Can't say the gameplay changes they've announced for Halo 4 sound good to me, but we'll see. This is from someone who never changed his stance on Armor Abilities. I think they've always been awesome.

[Franz Joseph Haydn]

I don't like what they're doing with the mutliplayer in all honesty. Can't we just keep it simple and not have some intricate backstory that no-one will be interested in trying to play?

[Promised Land]

So new images have been released such as:

[linked]and[linked]

Edited April 20, 2012 by Makaru
Huuuge images linked

[Mare Tranquillitatis]

^Elites look way more beasty now. I like these new graphics. I MUST have it!----- Lord of the Rings -----Titles: Dark Lord, Lord of Mordor, Lord of Gifts, Lord of Barad-Dûr, Lord of the Earth

[Ultimate_Kardas]

Got even more new pictures.

[link]Elite armor looks pretty cool, but they just seem kind of naked. And their feet are huge.[Link]Grunts seem to be a combination of sharks and mini rancors now? Not sure how I feel about that.[link]I didn't realize the DMR is also back.[link]Why does Cortana look so bad? It's a completely different face, and her hair looks different as well.

~U_K~

Edited April 20, 2012 by Makaru
Huge images

[Mare Tranquillitatis]

^ I like how Grunt are now looking, they seem more aggressive, even if they're actually cowards. About Elite feet, they've been always big. And that naked thing is given by tight armor, but I like it, just as with DMR, which doesn't have the vertical front thing. And Cortana is just more human.----- Lord of the Rings -----Titles: Dark Lord, Lord of Mordor, Lord of Gifts, Lord of Barad-Dûr, Lord of the Earth

[Makaru]

Hey guys, if you're going to be posting images like this, link them instead of embedding them.Thanks.

[Manducus]

I don't like what they're doing with the mutliplayer in all honesty. Can't we just keep it simple and not have some intricate backstory that no-one will be interested in trying to play?

Hey, at least 343 making the weapons spawn in different places since there will be no camping, no respawning delays, USNC Infinity missions, etc. in multiplayer and I'm pretty sure they know they're doing Edited April 22, 2012 by Rix

[Ultimate_Kardas]

I don't like what they're doing with the mutliplayer in all honesty. Can't we just keep it simple and not have some intricate backstory that no-one will be interested in trying to play?

Hey, at least 343 making the weapons spawn in different places since there will be no camping, no respawning delays, USNC Infinity missions, etc. in multiplayer and I'm pretty sure they know they're doing

In my opinion, two of those things you listed are some of the worst additions. Respawning delay has always been in Halo. You couldn't run around willy nilly and just shoot everybody. That just gets you killed, and you are punished for your actions. Now you just respawn instantly, rush to where you saw the guys, and continue shooting them. And random weapon spawns is bad too. Predetermined weapon spawns was fine. Usually the power weapons were located in the middle of the map, and both teams had an equal chance of getting them. To the victor go the spoils. On some maps each team has their own power weapon on their spawn side that bungie tried to balance out, like the sword and shotgun, or two snipers. Now I'm not exactly sure how it will work, but I know that it's drop pods at predetermined locations containing random weapons. If it's one drop pod at a time, that's bad because one team would have a better chance of getting it, depending on where you are placed. If it's multiple drop pods at a time, that's really bad too. Let's say two drop pods spawn, one on your side, and one on the other side. In your drop pod, you find a shotgun. Cool! But in their drop pod they have a rocket. Not cool. I don't want luck to determine the game.~U_K~

[Mare Tranquillitatis]

Ultimate Kardas is veeeery true. Luck is welcome, but just a little bit.

[Archer Vonn]

Not a fan of Elite's showing skin, to be honest. They're supposed to say wort wort wort, not HAVE warts warts warts. [and I'm aware they're supposed to look reptilian let me have my pun]They look pretty cool otherwise. I like the bulky leg armor, changes pace from the sleeker Elites we're used to.I make no comments on multiplayer only restating that Bungie FTWSpeaking of which, do we have any news on Bungie's new project? I'm assuming they have one, at least.

Edited April 22, 2012 by ~JC~

[Manducus]

I don't like what they're doing with the mutliplayer in all honesty. Can't we just keep it simple and not have some intricate backstory that no-one will be interested in trying to play?

Hey, at least 343 making the weapons spawn in different places since there will be no camping, no respawning delays, USNC Infinity missions, etc. in multiplayer and I'm pretty sure they know they're doing

In my opinion, two of those things you listed are some of the worst additions. Respawning delay has always been in Halo. You couldn't run around willy nilly and just shoot everybody. That just gets you killed, and you are punished for your actions. Now you just respawn instantly, rush to where you saw the guys, and continue shooting them. And random weapon spawns is bad too. Predetermined weapon spawns was fine. Usually the power weapons were located in the middle of the map, and both teams had an equal chance of getting them. To the victor go the spoils. On some maps each team has their own power weapon on their spawn side that bungie tried to balance out, like the sword and shotgun, or two snipers. Now I'm not exactly sure how it will work, but I know that it's drop pods at predetermined locations containing random weapons. If it's one drop pod at a time, that's bad because one team would have a better chance of getting it, depending on where you are placed. If it's multiple drop pods at a time, that's really bad too. Let's say two drop pods spawn, one on your side, and one on the other side. In your drop pod, you find a shotgun. Cool! But in their drop pod they have a rocket. Not cool. I don't want luck to determine the game.~U_K~

Still you don't have to wait for 5 or so seconds to be waiting to respawn, but instead smash X 2 times and your back in the game. A bit of luck wouldn't be so bad in a match Edited April 22, 2012 by Rix

[WORT WORT WORT]

[link]Elite armor looks pretty cool, but they just seem kind of naked. And their feet are huge.[Link]Grunts seem to be a combination of sharks and mini rancors now? Not sure how I feel about that.

Oh MAN just look at us! Dat pose. Dat n- n-nevermind. And mini Rancors... EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE- Edited April 23, 2012 by WORT WORT WORT

[Makaru]

So first there is no FF, and now 343 is deciding to remove the element of map/weapon control in MM.My faith is fairly shakey in these 'decisions'.

[~Allegretto~]

I don't like what they're doing with the mutliplayer in all honesty. Can't we just keep it simple and not have some intricate backstory that no-one will be interested in trying to play?

Hey, at least 343 making the weapons spawn in different places since there will be no camping, no respawning delays, USNC Infinity missions, etc. in multiplayer and I'm pretty sure they know they're doing

In my opinion, two of those things you listed are some of the worst additions. Respawning delay has always been in Halo. You couldn't run around willy nilly and just shoot everybody. That just gets you killed, and you are punished for your actions. Now you just respawn instantly, rush to where you saw the guys, and continue shooting them. And random weapon spawns is bad too. Predetermined weapon spawns was fine. Usually the power weapons were located in the middle of the map, and both teams had an equal chance of getting them. To the victor go the spoils. On some maps each team has their own power weapon on their spawn side that bungie tried to balance out, like the sword and shotgun, or two snipers. Now I'm not exactly sure how it will work, but I know that it's drop pods at predetermined locations containing random weapons. If it's one drop pod at a time, that's bad because one team would have a better chance of getting it, depending on where you are placed. If it's multiple drop pods at a time, that's really bad too. Let's say two drop pods spawn, one on your side, and one on the other side. In your drop pod, you find a shotgun. Cool! But in their drop pod they have a rocket. Not cool. I don't want luck to determine the game.~U_K~

Still you don't have to wait for 5 or so seconds to be waiting to respawn, but instead smash X 2 times and your back in the game. A bit of luck wouldn't be so bad in a match

There's always been a bit of luck. The problem now is that 343 is taking it from a bit to a lot.

[Ultimate_Kardas]

Found scans of the Official xbox magazine.Not liking what I'm hearing gameplay wise. Here's a quote that worries me. "And the improvements you make to [your spartan] won't just be cosmetic.Following the trends established in Halo Reach, your spartan will unlock game-altering combat options." It also has another line about "non cosmetic unlocks". Not liking the sound of this.Also, from the looks of things, there's going to be access to some online things only if you bought the game new.I also found out how long Master Chief has been in cryo:

About 4 and a half years. Things can't be going well for Cortana.

~U_K~

[Lord Kini Hawkeye]

If the Armor additions are things like "Carry one additional Clip" or "reload faster" than I don't see it as a problem. If it starts to become a "Have Overshields upon spawn and through the game" type thing then I have a problem with it.Then again i've never been as into the competitive aspects of the game as You have UK so oh well... :/

[Archer Vonn]

That spoiler, UK, was probably the most interesting thing I've heard about Halo 4 yet.

[Mare Tranquillitatis]

I've seen it too, UK. But I've also noticed something else about Cortana. Dunno if it's official, but this is it:

Cortana is nearing her "death", as her seventh year of "life" is very close. So relations between her and MC should get deeper.

Edited April 26, 2012 by Emile A239

[Bundalings]

I think she's already past that age, actually. I think she was about seven at the time of Halo 3 and it's been four more years. Also, she's gone through a lot of unusual stress, which she believed would make her life shorter, but I suppose that isn't the case. Still, it's been shown AI can function beyond rampancy, like with Juliana in The Cole Protocol.

[Archer Vonn]

The idea was that the 'Cortana moments' were Cortana during rampancy. She was only about three during the time of Halo 3, mind you. The reason her life span was cut so significantly is because of the time she spent in the Alpha Halo's control center.

[Alex Humva]

Am I the only one that's miffed about 343 changing the weapons over to a CoD system, where you level up and get more weapons? I'm too lazy to read more than this page.Not saying the level up and get new weapons thing is bad, but it... just doesn't feel Halo-y. The series needs to keep evolving, but Halo has always been about doing new stuff, not tacking on what's already there. It's suppose to be revolutionary, not an involution. And yes, involution is actually a word.Not so much saying 'they changed it now it sucks'; it'll still be cool, but... just doesn't feel like Halo. It's like taking an apple and orange and making them into an orange-apple hybrid. Oranges are cool, apples are cool, an orange-apple is probably cool, but it's just not an apple anymore.

[Mare Tranquillitatis]

^ I wouldn't have had better words to explain it. But the CoD-ish thing you described makes me fear about Halo 4. As you said, it won't feel much Halo.And JC is right.

[Archer Vonn]

Halo has also traditionally been done by Bungie, Alex. You forget that. Be they recycled employees or not, 343 is NOT Bungie.

[Promised Land]

So did anyone else see the recent article about some of the weapons that'll be in Halo 4?

I'm really interested in how the new railgun is going to work, mostly in how it's going to fire. Is it going to be like a portable gauss cannon or will we have to charge it like a Spartan Laser?

[Ehksidian]

Leveling up to get new weapons?...Ok, that kinda ticks me off. As long as you can find every weapon availible on maps, it'll be a little less bad, but still.I really am not looking forward to one team having high-raninkg people spawning with Sniper rifles, Rocket launchers, etc. I would rather classes be you get to choose whether you want the DMR or Battle Rifle as your primary, or some other gun as your secondary.I still am crossing my fingers that this is what happens, not everybody has rocket launchers/snipers/new power weapons.

[Ultimate_Kardas]

Just finished reading Primordium. Just like after reading Cryptum, my mind is swirling with questions.

I'm still not sure what the primordial is. Were the Precursors just some advanced form of Flood?I found it really cool that the reason humans won against the flood is because the flood chose not to infect them.Also, did anyone else kind of find it weird that Guilty Spark just happened to have a duplicate of himself lying around? It just seems like a cheap cop-out to me.

Now all I have to do is wait until my library has Glasslands. Especially since this book is going to be coming out soon:~U_K~

[Archer Vonn]

Leveling up to get new weapons?...Ok, that kinda ticks me off. As long as you can find every weapon availible on maps, it'll be a little less bad, but still.I really am not looking forward to one team having high-raninkg people spawning with Sniper rifles, Rocket launchers, etc. I would rather classes be you get to choose whether you want the DMR or Battle Rifle as your primary, or some other gun as your secondary.I still am crossing my fingers that this is what happens, not everybody has rocket launchers/snipers/new power weapons.

A similar system is in place in Killzone 3. It is very frustrating if you buy the game a year or so after it came out, but once you get to a level where better guns are available to you, it's more fun for everybody. It avoids long walks on the beach to find the Needler or Battle Rifle. Edited May 6, 2012 by ~JC~

[Peach 00]

Although not a huge fan of the series, I do own Halo 3. Eventually I learned that it is impossible to figure out what the storyline is about with the series unless you've played the first game. =P It's a fun game, don't get me wrong, it was just hard to follow, I guess. Too much confusion, honestly. My favorite weapon from the game was the gravity hammer - now that was a weapon that screamed awesome. :PI heard they were coming out with Halo 4, although I don't think I'll buy it. I'm surprised it took them so long to actually continue where they left off at the end of Halo 3...it should be interesting. I haven't seen any trailers for it, so I'm not one to judge how it will be, though. It seemed the creators maintained good sales with Reach and ODST during the abscence of a continuation of Halo 3's ending, however, so they gained more money probably than if they had sold Halo 4 a year or two after Halo 3's release.

[Mister Electon]

Leveling up to get new weapons?...Ok, that kinda ticks me off. As long as you can find every weapon availible on maps, it'll be a little less bad, but still.I really am not looking forward to one team having high-raninkg people spawning with Sniper rifles, Rocket launchers, etc. I would rather classes be you get to choose whether you want the DMR or Battle Rifle as your primary, or some other gun as your secondary.I still am crossing my fingers that this is what happens, not everybody has rocket launchers/snipers/new power weapons.

A similar system is in place in Killzone 3. It is very frustrating if you buy the game a year or so after it came out, but once you get to a level where better guns are available to you, it's more fun for everybody. It avoids long walks on the beach to find the Needler or Battle Rifle.

It could be good or bad... I think you shouldn't be allowed to spawn with the power weapons if this actually happens. Edited May 15, 2012 by Mister Electon